Yes, Absolutely
by TashaLaw
Summary: Castle and Beckett discuss plans in the case of an unlikely emergency. Possible spoilers for Undead Again. Chapter 2 added after Undead Again
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Yes, Absolutely

**Summary**: Castle and Beckett discuss plans in the case of an unlikely emergency. Possible spoilers for Undead Again.

**Spoilers**: Loosely related to subject matter for Undead Again. I've only read the press release and briefly saw the promos after writing most of this.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Castle.

**A/N**: Just a silly little scene somewhat inspired by my having watched half of the second season of The Walking Dead this weekend.

* * *

Castle had been staring at his cell phone with rapt attention all morning. He would occasionally type something onto the 'keyboard,' but for the most part, he was just reading with the occasional swipe of his finger across the screen.

And about twenty minutes earlier, the muttering had begun. It was just a word here and there, at first, but now he was up to full sentences. And none of them made any sense.

"Evacuation route, good point," he said under his breath. Then, "Wonder where I can get antibiotics..."

Kate raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Gotta get Alexis a bow and arrow. Hmm... or maybe a crossbow."

Her curiosity finally piqued enough to ask, Kate said, "Castle... what are you doing?"

He glanced up at her in confusion, as though not realizing he was still sitting next to her desk in the middle of the precinct. He looked around, his eyes darting frantically as though looking for something. When he was satisfied that whatever he was looking for wasn't present in the police station, he turned back to her.

"Preparations," he said simply.

"Preparations for what?"

He shrugged before turning back to his cell phone. "You'll think it's silly."

Kate snorted in response. "That's never stopped you before."

He looked up briefly from his phone. His eyes narrowed as he regarded her, perhaps wondering if he should share whatever had gained his attention. "I suppose you should know," he said. "I'd definitely pick you for my team and you should be as prepared as possible."

"What team, Castle? What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering, he simply pulled up something on his phone and held it out to her.

"Twitter?" she asked. "You're showing me something on twitter?"

"Just read it."

As her eyes swept across the words, she began to understand what had his already over active imagination all aflutter with extra activity. The initial tweet was from a police department (not New York, thankfully) reporting an officer injured and taken to a local hospital. The tweet went on briefly to mention that the injury was from a human bite and that the suspect was in custody. Nothing terribly unusual there. Kate knew human bites were the worst due to the bacteria in the mouth, but as a uniformed officer she had dealt with all sorts of behavior from suspects.

But someone had responded to the tweet, asking, "If that was a zombie bite, would you tell us?"

Whoever was manning that department's twitter account had answered, "Yes, absolutely."

While she was surprised the police department had even bothered responding, Kate decided that it was the 'absolutely' that made the question sound more credible and the answer less than truthful. Didn't everyone know from movies that the government's favored manner of keeping the public calm was to control information? Not that Kate believed in aliens, ghosts, or zombies. But even she viewed the responsive tweet with skepticism.

"It was not a zombie attack, Castle," she said, rolling her eyes for good measure. She handed the cell phone back to him, and he began pulling something else up as he spoke.

"You don't know that! Besides, just because they cracked down on this one doesn't mean that more outbreaks aren't possible in the future. And so, as a diligent citizen, I have been doing my research..."

He handed the phone back to her. Reading the page, she couldn't help but smile.

"The Center for Disease Control has a zombie preparedness guide?" she asked, incredulous.

Castle shrugged in response. "Well, its mostly just information for any general emergency preparedness. Nothing really useful like tips on weapons or how to zombie-proof your house..."

Smirking at his seriousness, she said, "Really, Castle? Zombie proof houses?"

This question set off a whole new flurry of activity on the cell phone followed by him showing not only his personal favorite zombie-proof house ideas but also a yearly contest held for zombie safe house designs. "I especially like the oil silo one."

By the time she handed the phone back to him again, she was starting to wonder if perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a plan for herself, just in case. She didn't believe in zombies, of course, but considering how much thought and planning others had put into the eventuality of the animated undead, it wouldn't hurt. Besides, as the CDC's website had pointed out, being prepared for emergencies was always a good idea, whether they be zombie outbreaks, pandemics, or even natural disasters.

"I wonder if I can retrofit the house in the Hamptons with retractable blast doors..." she heard Castle mutter. Then he gasped in excitement before pushing the phone back at her. "Oh, we have to do this, Beckett. It's a zombie 5K obstacle course race. You race through the woods, jump over obstacles, all while trying to avoid people dressed up like zombies."

But Kate was already shaking her head at him. "Castle..." She stopped, unable to come up with an adequate response.

"Oh come on, Beckett. If you're going to be on my zombie apocolypse team, I want you to have as much practice as possible."

This comment earned him a raised eyebrow. She was spared the requirement to respond as Esposito and Ryan entered the bullpen and made their way to her desk.

"What are you practicing for?" Ryan asked, overhearing only the last part of Castle's comment.

"Zombie apocolypse," he responded quickly, vaulting up to stand next to the guys.

Esposito interjected, "Easy. Just get to a stockpile of weapons and you're good."

But Ryan was shaking his head. "No, you can't always shoot them. Don't you know that sometimes zombies are drawn to noise? You'd have a huge mob on your hands."

"Exactly!" Castle added. "That's why I was thinking of a crossbow."

"Baseball bats are easier to come by," Ryan suggested. "Or axes..."

"Plus once you lose an arrow, they're hard to replace."

"What about a sword?"

As the boys continued to debate the relative merits of the most effective weapons and strategies in the event of a zombie apocalypse, Beckett rolled her eyes once again and refocused herself on her paperwork.

Unfortunately, Gates did not prove to be as predisposed to allow the conversation to continue. Sticking her head out of her office, she demanded, "Mr. Castle, just what wild theory do you have my detectives so immersed in today?"

The entire room fell silent as all eyes turned to Castle. Even Ryan and Esposito looked away, guilty, and quickly scrambled back to their desks. For his part, Castle opened his mouth to answer the angry captain, but for a half second nothing came out.

Kate interrupted, "Castle was just talking about emergency preparedness. The CDC has published some useful guides and he was suggesting some ideas for implementing them, should the occasion ever arise."

Gates' eyes narrowed on Castle, who simply nodded and said, "Yeah, what she said."

"Well if you have input on emergency management, Mr. Castle, I suggest you contact the city OEM. But seeing as how this is a homicide unit, everyone else, get back to work. Certainly there is a murder you all can be solving."

The way she looked at Castle as she said 'murder' made him gulp a little.

The sound of phones ringing and papers shuffling immediately resumed and Castle beat a hasty retreat back to his chair beside Beckett's desk. "She is definitely going to be on my team," Castle said quietly, watching over his shoulder as Gates returned to her office.

"What's this team thing you keep talking about?" she asked.

"You know, your zombie apocalypse team. If you can pick ten people you'd prefer to go into the zombie apocolypse with, who would they be? And its the zombie apocalypse, so you can't be sentimental about it. You have to pick the people you think are most likely to help you survive and contribute to the overall good of the group."

Kate smirked at him. "And I'm on your team, huh?"

"Oh, definitely. You're smart, athletic, careful, and you know how to shoot a gun. You're also good under pressure. Although, I must say, your unwillingness to properly prepare yourself has me second-guessing having you on the team."

She grinned at his assessment of her. "Who else is on your team, Castle?"

"Well, definitely Esposito and Ryan. And probably Lanie."

"Lanie?"

"You always need a doctor or two on the team. That's essential. And Alexis, of course-"

"What happened to not being sentimental?"

He responded, "Well I didn't say I was adding my mother, did I? That would be sentimental. But Alexis is young and smart, and I know from a number of years of laser tag that she has good aim. Plus I think she'd keep her cool at the first sight of a zombie."

"I don't know, Castle - I get the feeling that your mom might surprise you."

As Kate returned to her paperwork, Castle was back to playing on his cell phone, looking more intent than ever. After several minutes of silence, she said, "Please tell me you're not buying a zombie proof house."

"Not a house. I'm just seeing what old oil silos are selling for these days."

While she rolled her eyes at him, Kate made a mental note to read the CDC's zombie prepardness guide in its entirety when she had a spare moment. Just in case. For the sake of the team.

"So, lunch?" Kate suggested, hoping to regain his attention.

"That sounds great. I'm feeling very hungry all of a sudden."

Kate snorted at him. Of course, after discussing the zombie apocalypse, Castle would be hungry. As they walked to the elevator together, Kate felt the need to point out, "Castle, we live in a city with twenty million people. If there's seriously an outbreak that turns people into bloodthirsty undead zombies, do you really think you would have a chance?"

"Ah, Beckett. With that kind of attitude, I may have to drop you from the team entirely. The first rule of any good zombie movie - never give up."

"I'd have thought the first rule would be to avoid being bit."

"That too." She noticed him involuntarily shudder at the idea.

"Don't worry, Castle," she assured him. "If you got bit, I promise I would shoot you before you turned into a zombie."

"In the head," he emphasized. "That's very kind of you, killing me before I can turn undead. And if we were both being chased by zombies, I promise I wouldn't trip you just so I could get away."

She smirked at him, a little uncertain of the vow he had just made, but pleased by the sentiment.

"And if you got bit by a zombie, you'd let me know, right?" he asked her. "So I could shoot you before you turn?"

She gave an enigmatic smile as she answered, "Yes, absolutely."


	2. Chapter 2

**Spoilers**: Slight spoilers for Undead Again, and I picture this chapter taking place sometime after that episode.

**A/N**: Reviews for chapter one and the episode last night inspired me to write a second chapter of this story. Most of the descriptions of this event come directly from my own personal experience running a zombie 5K earlier this year. Please be advised this story may contain some spoilers for future races if you are planning to attend one.

This chapter is slightly more caskett-y than the last one. As I am now out of zombie-themed ideas it is complete with part two.

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

Kate was shaking her head, but he could see the smile threatening to peek through as the edges of her lips lifted slightly.

"It'll be fun. And educational."

"Educational?"

Castle shrugged one shoulder. "Well, good practice at least."

"Because we run from zombies so often," she remarked. In response, he lifted an eyebrow knowingly, as if to point out that considering their recent murder investigation, dealing with zombies was now a very real proposition. "Okay, where are Ryan and Esposito? I only agreed to come do this thing if you conned them into it as well."

They both looked around the sea of cars parked in awkward rows among pine trees and the occasional tree stump. A heavy rain storm had hit the night before, leaving everything damp and more than a little muddy. "Over there," Castle said, pointing.

Down the hill, the other two detectives were climbing out of a rental car. While Esposito wore nondescript sweat pants and a blue NYPD t-shirt, Ryan sported running shorts, the same t-shirt, and a red bandana tied around his forehead. For her part, Kate had chosen running shorts and a sports bra. Glancing down at his own attire, Castle wondered if he should have gone the shorts route or if wearing sweatpants like Esposito was a better idea. What did one wear to a zombie obstacle course race anyway?

As they approached the guys, Castle overheard Ryan ask, "They're not going to really try and bite us, are they? Cause the rules say I'm not allowed to bring my gun."

Kate chuckled. "No guns, Ryan, and they're not allowed to bite. All they can do is try to grab your flags."

Also having read the rules on the event's website, Castle added, "And once you lose all your flags, you are no longer human. You have become zombie-fied."

Esposito looked between him and Ryan and said, "So first person to lose all their flags buys dinner?"

"Deal."

The runners were to do the course in waves. As Castle and the NYPD detectives waited to queue up for their wave, they noticed three tunnels had been set up at the start of the course. The first tunnel was for fast runners and was labeled "Appetizers." The middle tunnel was for medium-speed runners and said "Entrees." The last tunnel, the one Castle decided to enter as a slower runner, was marked "Desserts."

"I'm an appetizer," Esposito declared, heading for the first tunnel. "See you guys at the finish line."

Kate wished him luck, but she and Ryan followed Castle into the dessert tunnel. "Aren't you guys going to run with Esposito?" he asked.

"He'll be fine," Kate responded. "Besides, what's the point of surviving the zombie apocalypse if you are all alone at the end?"

Ryan nodded his agreement and Castle beamed at them, pleased to have companions on the journey they were about to take.

As they stood in the tunnel waiting for the starting pistol, they began to get an appreciation for how difficult the previous night's rain was going to make the course. The dirt floor of the tunnel was already several inches deep in mud. Other runners filed into the tunnel behind them, and everyone re-tied their shoes in an effort to keep them from coming off in the mud.

The appetizer tunnel was released first when the starting pistol fired, and Castle could smell the sulfur as a yellow smoke bomb went off. Seconds passed, and then the entrees began moving out, their shuffling feet visible under the thin walls of the adjoining tunnel. Finally, the gate in front of the dessert tunnel was pulled back, and adrenaline filled Castle's veins as they began to move.

The mud immediately proved to be an issue. Several people slipped and fell down the first hill and Castle took care to avoid stepping on or tripping over them. But there were no zombies immediately present, so he followed the stream of people running ahead of them. By his side, Kate flashed him a determined smile.

The first obstacle, a series of hay bales to jump, had zombies interspersed. The zombies' make-up had been professionally done and they even acted like zombies, shambling around hunched and groaning as they reached out quick hands to grab at the red flags tied to runners' waists. Kate hopped the hay bales easily, and then reached behind her to help haul up Castle.

"Look out!" he shouted, spotting a zombie approaching from behind her. She quickly jumped out of the way, landing on the ground behind the zombie, and Castle followed her, losing one of his flags in the process. After clearing two more hay bales, they were confronted by two zombies standing in the middle of the muddy trail, and these two moved much more quickly, chasing after runners as they sprinted by.

"To the left!" Ryan shouted up ahead of them, and Castle dodged left of the zombies. One dove for him but missed, and Kate easily ran past.

The trail ahead of them was clear for a ways, and the initial press of runners from the first obstacle had thinned out considerably. "Wow," Castle remarked, breathing heavily as he took stock of the flags on his belt. He had lost one, leaving two remaining. Kate and Ryan still had all three. There was no sign of Esposito.

"Intense," Kate said by way of agreement.

"Did you see those guys?" squealed Ryan, who was looking back at the zombies behind them, already focused on new runners.

"I think this is going to be a long run," Castle said.

The next obstacle proved more challenging. A ditch filled with two feet of water at the bottom, with large logs set across the ditch. Several zombies stood in the water, looking cold and bedraggled as they walked back and forth, attempting to seize the flags of any runners who came too close.

Castle bit back a curse as his feet hit the water - make that very, very cold. But luckily, these zombies paid him little attention and he was able to climb over each of the logs quickly and easily. Kate almost lost a flag when a zombie reached for her, but she ducked out of the way at the last second. The mound of dirt (well, mud) on the other side of the ditch was slippery and pocked with footprints. Just beyond the mound, two more zombies stood, waiting for potential victims to approach.

With a burst of energy Castle envied, Kate ran towards them, aiming for the empty space in the middle. She wasn't going to make it. Running after her, Castle called out, "Right! Right!" Kate feinted right, then suddenly pivoted left and the zombie in her path slipped in the mud, allowing her to pass. Ryan and Castle ran after her, clearing the zombie's reaching hands by inches.

With the path ahead clear, they slowed down and Kate took the opportunity to remark, "You know they aren't real zombies, right, Castle? If you tell me to go 'right,' they can hear you."

He shook his head, already exhausted from the sprinting and the mud and the cold water in his tennis shoes. "Just trying to help."

"Dude, how did you lose another flag?" Ryan asked.

Glancing down, Castle realized that he had somehow lost one more, leaving only one flag remaining on his belt. He hadn't even noticed which zombie took it. "Not fair," he complained. "We still have three miles to go."

They trudged on, continuing much the same way for the next mile or so. In addition to zombies in their path, they confronted other obstacles. They occasionally confronted forks in the road, but only once had they taken the wrong direction and been forced to double back. The ever-present mud was its own obstacle, as was the sprinkling of rain that began shortly after they cleared the log hurdle. Castle and Ryan both had slipped a number of times, covering their pants and arms in the sticky substance. Despite her quickness and athleticism, even Kate had fallen once or twice and had the mud-prints on her legs and shorts to show it.

"This is fun," Castle said as they trudged through another obstacle, a ditch filled with freezing rainwater, which was luckily devoid of zombies. Somewhere in the distance, they heard a blood-curdling scream.

"Running around in the woods, in the mud, dodging people dressed up in makeup?" Kate asked. "Yeah, lots of fun, Castle."

"I'm having a blast," Ryan remarked, grinning despite the flecks of mud on his cheeks.

"Four plane tickets to Georgia, twelve hundred dollars," Castle said. "Four tickets as runners, two hundred and fifty dollars."

"A new pair of shoes," Kate interjected, looking down at her mud-soaked sneakers, "One hundred dollars."

Finishing the joke, Castle observed, "Preparing for the zombie apocalypse with some of my favorite people, priceless."

Kate smiled at him despite herself.

She found herself smiling again sometime later after they cleared a few more obstacles and Castle had lost his last flag to a running, 28 Days Later-style zombie.

"Its okay, Castle. You can have one of mine." Miraculously, she still had all three of her flags. Even Ryan was down to his last one and guarded it zealously.

Pulling the Velcro-ed red plastic strip from her belt, Kate handed it over to the writer. "Really?" he asked, as though she were actually handing him a new life. Their fingers brushed slightly as he took it from her, and despite the mud on her face, he thought he saw her blush as she pulled back her hand.

"Of course."

"What if you need it later?"

"We can worry about it then."

'Then' came all too quickly as the next obstacle proved to be a small, zombie-infested maze. Luckily, advice from other runners allowed them to avoid the turn which would have taken them into a zombie hoard, and they got out with Kate losing only one of her flags, leaving the three of them with one each.

As they rounded a bend, up ahead they spotted a lone zombie standing in the middle of the trail. She wore a black hoodie, her head dipped down, and looked short enough to be a child. They advanced on her slowly, ready to run on either side of her depending on which way she lunged. But she did not move an inch until they were within a few feet of her.

Instead of reaching out towards the flags on their belts, the girl simply looked up, showing the gray zombie makeup on her face in great detail before she let out a terrifying, high-pitched scream.

All three of them jumped, and despite herself, Kate let out an answering scream as they scrambled around her. The girl made no move to follow them, her vacant eyes simply following them as they continued up the trail.

Once they were a good distance away from the zombie girl, Castle turned to Kate. "That was some scream!"

"I know. She practically scared me to death."

"No, I meant you," he remarked, bumping her shoulder with his own as they walked forward.

"I did not scream," she responded evenly. "I was just a little surprised."

Ryan observed, "You scream like a girl."

Arching an eyebrow at him, Kate said, "I am a girl, in case you haven't noticed."

Ryan opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it. Whatever he may have said next was cut off as Kate lost her footing in the thick mud and started to go down. Next to her, Castle reached out and caught her arm in an attempt to steady her. But it was too late - she was already slipping too quickly, and her momentum caught Castle off his guard and pulled him with her. They landed together in a heap on the muddy trail with him on top.

Their eyes locked as each took in the feeling of the other's body pressed so closely. For several seconds, Castle said nothing, merely held himself up on his elbows so he didn't crush her beneath him. Kate remained silent as well, her eyes clouding with the memories of them in a similar position on a long ago day in a cemetery. Seeing her reaction, Castle's eyes widened, hopeful and anxious. She was about to say something when Ryan, who was standing nearby, spoke up.

"Uh, guys... I hate to interrupt, but there are zombies headed this way..."

Extracting themselves from each other's limbs, Castle and Kate scrambled to their feet to face the oncoming threat. They spotted two zombies waiting at the top of the hill where the trail narrowed considerably. A bride and groom judging by their costumes, although both of the volunteer undead were also liberally doused in mud.

"That's not even fair," Ryan complained. "There's no way to get around them."

"I'll go first," Castle volunteered. "See if I can distract them so you two can go around."

Kate shook her head. "That's suicide. They'll get you for sure. I'm the strongest runner, so I should be the bait."

He responded very seriously, "Kate, you already gave me one of your flags. Whatever happens, I want you to live."

"Actually, I think I have a better idea," Ryan said as he deliberately pulled the muddy red bandana from his forehead and began tying it to the front of his belt.

After taking a moment to discuss their strategy, the three runners began making their way up, saving their energy as they scaled the muddy hill for a burst of speed as they reached the top. Ryan went first, drawing the attention of the zombie groom to the left. Castle and Kate raced to either side of the remaining zombie bride, who dove after Kate but missed her. They passed the zombie who had gone after Ryan, noticing that he had gotten a hold of Ryan's red flag and was yanking at it. But it wasn't a flag and it didn't rip off the belt like the other velcro-ed flags had - it was his red bandana tied on the opposite side as a decoy. The zombie groom briefly broke character to yell at Ryan about that being against the rules, but the detective was already out of his grasp. All three had gotten through with their (real) flags intact.

"Nothing in the rules about bandanas!" Ryan yelled back at the obviously irritated zombie.

"This is so much more cool than just a 'zombie walk'," Castle observed.

The rest of the obstacle course continued in a similar vein until they neared the end. As they climbed over a particularly high obstacle, Castle noticed what they were about to face. About fifty feet away, there were more zombies. But instead of being in ones and twos like they were along the trail, there was a small clearing that was full of zombies. At least twenty of them. And they were waiting for runners, snarling hungrily as they caught sight of the trio.

The makeup and costumes were so well done, Castle actually felt a bit of real fear rise up his spine.

"We can't do this as a group," Kate advised grimly. "We have to split up. Everyone just run as fast as you can."

They all took off together, each going in a different direction through the crowd of zombies so as to cut down on the changes of each being mobbed. Castle ran as hard as he could, zigging and zagging as best as he could, but one of the zombies managed to grab his last remaining flag. He yelled in angry defeat, but then yelled again as he spotted Kate up ahead, about to be double teamed by two converging zombies. With a burst of energy, he sprinted forward to catch up to her, just in time to insert his body between her and the closest zombie. The zombie patted Castle down, searching for flags, but found none.

Managing to get away with her flag, Kate turned back to Castle once they had cleared the zombie mob. "Did he get you?' she demanded.

Shaking his head, Castle explained that he was already flagless when he came to her rescue. Behind them, Ryan caught up, shaking his head sadly. "Stupid zombie took my last flag," he said. "What about you two?"

Castle shook his head, noting, "I guess Beckett's the only one that is going to survive the zombie apocalypse."

"Come on you guys, let's just get through this thing."

No more zombies attacked them after that, and the last obstacle was another artificial tunnel, this one with hanging rubber 'entrails,' that opened at the top of a small, muddy hill. Kate attempted it first, but slipped on the way down. She slid the rest of the way, landing in a small puddle of muddy water at the bottom. Castle followed closely behind her, but he also lost his balance, landing once again on top of her. He grinned at her for a second as she grinned back up at him. However, they were interrupted by Ryan landing on top of both of them.

"Sorry guys," the detective said before rolling off of them.

Before removing his own weight from Kate, Castle winked at her, and then pulled her up and out of the puddle. He did not let go of her hand immediately as they trudged up the opposite side of the hill and ducked under a high fence before spotting the finish line. Kate began jogging, giving Castle an apologetic look as she let go of his hand, and the guys fell in line behind her. As the only one in their small group to still have a red flag on her belt, she went through the 'survivor' side while they went through the 'zombie' side. It had something to do with the electronic timer/trackers that had been tied to their shoes, Castle knew.

After they turned over their electronic trackers and met back up with Kate, all of them now sporting identical medals of completion on red ribbons, she was smiling widely, her teeth especially white contrasted against the mud covering most of her body. "You were right," she told Castle. "That was a lot of fun. Don't know how well we'd do against real zombies, but..."

Whatever he was going to say back was lost because pushed herself up on her tip toes, and without warning, she kissed Castle on the lips. It was not a long or especially romantic kiss, just a peck, really. But he stood there, stunned, as she flashed him one more smile and then headed in the direction of the showers in the 'Decontamination Zone.'

Ryan stepped up beside him. "Wow," the detective said as they both watched Kate walk away.

Castle nodded and repeated the word. "Wow."

A moment later, they spotted Esposito walking towards them from another direction. He was holding a sandwich in one hand and a paper cup full of beer in the other. And besides some mud on his shoes and lower legs, he looked completely clean. Each one of his three red flags hung pristinely from his belt matching the red ribbon on his own completion medal. "What took you guys so long?" he asked. "I've been waiting here for almost an hour."

"At least now we know who is most likely to survive the zombie apocalypse," Ryan observed, taking in his friend's neat appearance and full complement of flags.

"Was there ever any doubt? What about you two? Where are all your flags?" Looking at their empty belts, Esposito remarked, "Guess you two are buying dinner." Noticing Castle's vacant expression, he added, "Don't take it too hard, man. That was a tough course. "

Castle pulled his eyes away from the sight of Kate a hundred yards away, standing under an outdoor shower as a stream of water began rinsing the mud from her body and clothing. He looked at the detective. "Oh, I don't care if I'm a zombie or if I buy dinner. Today? Best. Day. Ever."

Then he headed in the direction of the Decontamination Zone himself, anxious to catch up to Kate.


End file.
